News

Behind every great sports team is a great coach. In the case of the Angel City travel teams, we are blessed with a team of two great coaches that have devoted time, energy, sweat and tears to our Travel Team. Angel City Derby’s November 2017 Angels of the Month are none other than Charmer and Abe Drinkin.

When Angel City moved to a combined Travel Team structure for the Hollywood Scarlets and Rocket Queens, we needed to keep all 30 skaters at a competitive level and maintain continuity of training and strategy. Abe and Charmer solved that by coaching not one but both teams together.

Charmer, who started as a skater, is part of the fabric of the league that has kept us strong over time. She started as an original Rocket Queen as a blocker. She then crossed the track into the world of officiating where she successfully led the illustrious Parks and Refreation. After becoming a Level 3 WFTDA certified official, Charmer used her knowledge as a skater and as an official to transition into the role of coach for the Hollywood Scarlets. Charmer has done it all, adding to her list of accomplishments she is also a member of ACD’s 2017 Board of Directors.

Abraham (Abe) Drinkin comes to Angel City by way of New York City powerhouses Gotham Girls Roller Derby and brother MRDA team, the New York Shock Exchange. Abe spent nearly 5 years with Gotham’s coaching staff as a team manager when Gotham was the absolute pinnacle of dominance in the sport. Abe was an integral part of the team’s legacy of winning the Hydra from 2011 to 2014, and his move to Los Angeles in 2016 was an incredible opportunity for Angel City to work with one of the most experienced coaches in the game. As a skater, his accomplishments include winning the first two Men’s Roller Derby Championships, countless tournament titles, sanctioned wins, and games around the globe. He recently made the roster for Men’s Team USA for the 2018 Men’s World Cup. His skill is a skater, knowledge of the game, and experience in championship high level gameplay makes him an undeniably huge asset to our Travel Team.

Abe and Charmer have worked together tirelessly, seamlessly, ensuring the best outcome for our top two teams. Focusing on team and individual performance for TWO teams with more than 30 skaters is a huge undertaking that they have graciously accepted and succeeded at. Coaching requires unwavering patience, dedication to development of individuals, innovation of strategy and gameplay advancement, competitive spirit, and emotional investment in the entire squad. They have traveled with both teams to the Big O in Eugene, Hometown Throwdown in Portland, WFTDA playoffs in Seattle, and B-Team Champs in Tampa this year. They will also be making the trek to Philadelphia, PA with the Hollywood Scarlets for WFTDA Championships when our Scarlets will fight to win the championship title and bring home the Hydra.

Their love and dedication for the team is palpable. They believe we can win.